Disorder in Cuyahoga County's Juvenile Court: editorial

Marvin Fong, The Plain DealerCuyahoga County Juvenile Court: Nice, new building; same old bad habits.

It seems you can't change the culture of the long-dysfunctional Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court by moving it to a Taj Mahal-like courthouse. How else to explain the apparent complacency of its five judges with the outrageous delays exposed last Sunday by Plain Dealer reporter Sarah Jane Tribble.

Tribble found the wheels of justice have ground nearly to a halt in many critical paternity and child support cases, with one magistrate scheduling into next year when Ohio Supreme Court guidelines recommend timely disposal of such cases. Yet no one in power at the new Juvenile Justice Center at East 93rd Street and Quincy Avenue seems to care enough to act.

Well, families that rely on monthly child support checks and children awaiting custody do care, and so do taxpayers who paid millions for this mausoleum to justice.

The judges have to get the lead out -- and Gov. John Kasich, who will appoint a sixth judge soon to replace the late Judge Peter Sikora, must find a jurist capable of rising above the culture of complacency endemic to this court.

Tribble found that the Juvenile Court fell far short of Supreme Court guidelines that all paternity and child support cases should be resolved within a year: Sixteen percent of child support cases in Cuyahoga County's court were still pending after more than a year as of February -- well above the state average of just 4 percent in 2011. The backsliding must stop.

The court's response to this much-needed expose was typical -- and unacceptable. Court Administrator Marita Kavalec praised the dedication of court staff and said the court was working on a plan but that, "We don't have unanimity on what the solution is."

She blamed the delays on the court's October move into its new building; a rise in the number of single mothers in the city and suburbs increasing the child support caseload; and a decrease in court staff because of countywide layoffs and early retirements. Kavalec said the court has not asked for more staff because it is still studying the problem.

How long before the court acts?

Chief Administrative Judge Thomas O'Malley must reach out to the Ohio Supreme Court, which has offered to help.

Tribble also uncovered what the Cuyahoga County Child Support Agency has flagged as an unexplained but disturbing trend of frequent dismissals of child support cases by Juvenile Court magistrates. The court must assure that every magistrate clearly details, in writing, his or her reasons for dismissing cases.

This court is out of order. Its judges should get to work immediately on creating reforms that can end the unacceptable backlogs and restore long-suffering voters' faith in the county's juvenile justice system.

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